1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a header for a tube-bank heat exchanger as well as to a heat exchanger which is equipped with said header and is primarily intended for use in the automobile industry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In accordance with known practice, a header or tube sheet of a heat exchanger of this type can consist of a flat plate of rectangular shape provided with holes in which the tube ends are mounted in fluid-tight manner. These holes can be defined by tubular cylindrical collars which project from the plate in order to improve the leak-tightness of assembly of the tube ends.
The header can be formed of plastic material in known manner, with the result that the fluid-tight tube ends can be mounted directly in the holes or collars of the header without interposition of seals.
The water box which is mounted on the header in a conventional manner is usually formed of plastic material and secured to the header by seal-welding. In many designs, the water box has an internal partition-wall which extends at right angles to the header and the free edge of which has to be tightly applied against the header in order to divide the internal space of the water box into two chambers which are separated from each other in a substantially fluid-tight manner.
When the heat exchanger is in service, a fluid circulates within said heat exchanger and in particular within the aforementioned water box, with the result that both faces of the internal partition-wall of said water box are continuously in contact with the fluid. In the course of time, this finally gives rise to deformations of said internal partition-wall, the free edge of which becomes detached from the header face on which it had been applied or fixed in a substantially fluid-tight manner. In consequence, the partition-wall between the two chambers of the water box no longer provides a fluid-tight separation.